I'm wondering what the stability of this chip is when run with low impedances. I've run it just fine with 4 ohm loads when powered by a 9 volt which of course doesn't last too long but I'll be powering it with a supply of about 14 volts and 7.5 Ah so it should run for months of daily use before needing recharged.

Some of the posts I've read say that much voltage at that impedance will cook it which wouldn't at all surprise me. I'm thinking if necessary I'll just glue a small heat sink to it which will probably let me get away with pushing it so hard. It will be driving 4 small speakers with 3 1/2 inch cones.

Eventually I'll just replace it with something like a TDA2003 driven circuit since my power supply can really dish out the amperage but for now it's a LM386-4 circuit I'm recycling and it will be in a wooden cabinet made of 1/4 in thick poplar so the point is, I don't want the poor thing catching fire!